Justin Thomas eagles twice in earning 3-shot lead

Justin Thomas eagled twice in a 9-under-par 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the CJ Cup, the first U.S. PGA Tour regular-season event in South Korea.

Thomas started on Thursday with a bogey at the 10th hole but made amends with eagles on the par-5 12th and 18th holes around four straight birdies from No. 14-17 to turn in 29. He added three more birdies and a bogey to hold his margin.

Thomas set up a long eagle putt on No. 12 with a driver and a 3-wood.

His second eagle on 18 came when he hit a wedge to 3 feet from the hole.

Chez Reavie, Gavin Kyle Green, Scott Brown, Patrick Reed and Marc Leishman all opened with 66s and were in a five-way share of second at 6 under.

Jhonattan Vegas and Charles Howell III were among five players a shot further back at 5 under. Jason Day and fellow Australian Rod Pampling were at 4 under, one stroke ahead of Pat Perez, who was coming off a victory last week at the CIMB Classic. Adam Scott had a 72 containing four birdies and four bogeys.

Ji takes three-stroke lead

Eun-Hee Ji had a 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA's Taiwan Championship.

Ji got off to a strong start with back-to-back birdies at the Miramar Golf Country Club, and added four more to finish the round clear of fellow South Korean Sei Young Kim, Megan Khang and Ariya Jutanugarn.

Lydia Ko was in a group of five tied for fifth after a 70 that included three bogeys and five birdies.

baseball

Brantley has surgery

Cleveland All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley had surgery to repair a right ankle injury that limited him in the playoffs.

Brantley had ligaments stabilized in his ankle, which he hurt while playing left field Aug. 8. He missed 50 games over the season's final two months but was on Cleveland's postseason roster despite only being able to pinch hit and be used as a designated hitter.

The team said Brantley will need at least four months to recover before he can resume baseball activities.

hockey

Olympians honored

The U.S. women's hockey team received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award at the Salute to Women in Sports hosted by the Women's Sports Foundation.

In April, the hockey team won its fourth consecutive world title and seventh in eight tries. The U.S. beat Canada 3-2 in overtime in the title game in Plymouth, Mich. The team had threatened to boycott the world championships on home ice before USA Hockey agreed to improve salary and benefits.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received the Billie Jean King Leadership Award at the 38th annual gala. Rice, a professor at Stanford and former tennis player and figure skater, was recently selected to lead an NCAA commission to study college basketball after a federal investigation uncovered bribery and fraud.